A Face in the Crowd

Before it devolves into a noisy rant, this Elia Kazan-Budd Schulberg follow-up to the imperishable On the Waterfront makes some prescient points about the midcentury marriage of media and politics. Andy Griffith debuts as an Arkansas drifter plucked by go-getting college girl Patricia Neal to feature on her radio program, named the same as the film. His calculated folksy charm goes over well and he’s soon on tv. It’s not long till his ability to woo and sway the public attracts the attention of a right-wing cabal of plutocratic politicos. The film breaks down when the character does, but up to that point it is all quite convincing, from the two leads down through an excellent cast that includes Walter Matthau, Anthony Franciosa, and Lee Remick, with walk-ons by the likes of Walter Winchell. Somewhere on the continuum between Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Network, this is not a classic but bears watching. (1957, dvd, r.) *7*